The Curiosities

September 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-The authors behind the group blog Merry Sisters of Fate have combined their talents to create a collection of 30 fantasy short stories that dazzle. The selections themselves are finely crafted, with fully realized characters and unique settings. Each one has an introduction that reveals the author's thought processes in creating the story arc. Amusing handwritten comments, replies, and drawings allow readers a glimpse into the women's friendship and how their critiques of one another's work helped them grow as writers. A handwriting key at the beginning of the book permits readers to identify who said what, lowering the wall between writer and reader to reveal each author's personality. Yovanoff has a gift for stories that explore evil soul mates. Stiefvater examines power and modern society with a healthy dose of angst and a dash of fire. Gratton creates a world of complex magic and courageous characters whose stories usually end with a choice to be made. The book opens strongly with a trapped vampire and a girl who must choose whether or not to free him. There are tales of trolls, zombies, and psychopaths, and even Arthurian legends. Each story stands totally on its own, but together, the cohesive group is more than the sum of its parts. This anthology is a must for all YA collections. Promote it to traditional fantasy lovers, paranormal fans, and aspiring authors. It might even be the inspiration for starting a library writer's group.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 17, 2012
Described in an introduction by editor Andrew Karre as “the public performance of the private act of story craft,” this assemblage of more than 30 short stories, many of which first appeared on the authors’ joint blog, is akin to an artist’s sketchpad. Technique, not story, is often foregrounded. “The Power of Intent,” a Yovanoff offering, is a “be careful what you wish for” story with little narrative tension, but along the way it perfectly
depicts the emotional undercurrents of a high school dance. And the mysteries of Gratton’s brief but potent “Puddles”
remain mysteries, though she quickly
establishes a chilly atmosphere and fiery antagonism between her protagonists. Garlanding the snippets are handwritten doodles and notes that offer only occasional enlightenment about the authors’ writing processes, but abundantly display their mutual admiration. There are lovely stretches of prose and many funny, personable marginal exchanges—as an entertainment, an object, the book has its pleasures. Overall, though, the content is better suited to its native milieu, the Web. Ages 12–up. Agent: (for Stief-vater and Gratton) Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency; (for Yovanoff) Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary.

September 1, 2012
These experimental, unedited short stories showcase the many faces of horror -- goth, faerie, ghostly, grotesque, lyrical, vengeful, and nasty-cool. Some clusters of tales are responses to a subject prompt like "King Arthur" or "puddles"; others are one-offs. Creatures such as vampires, dragons, and zombies are joined by original creations such as butterflies in temporary human form. The stories all tend toward the traditional structure of a surprise ending. The pieces were first published online by the three authors as an exercise in creativity and criticism, and the presentation here is innovative, incorporating critique comments, hand-written marginalia describing the writer's process, doodles, short essays, and diagrams. The stories themselves are strong, but the apparatus can get in the way; the self-congratulatory tone of the comments wears thin, and some of the process notes ("I suck at inventing new slang") add little to the reader's understanding or pleasure. sarah ellis

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)